We have Cuphea David Verity planted in containers because in our part of the country, this plant does not become large enough when planted in the ground. We ordered this plant from two different nurseries this year. In the backyard, the plants in hanging baskets have much larger leaves and many fewer flowers compared to a plant in a container in the front yard. The plant in the front year has many flowers and much smaller leaves. Here is a side by side comparison of the two plants:



The photo on the left shows the plant with large leaves and few flowers; the photo on the right shows a plant with many flowers and the leaves are approximately the same length as the flowers. There are different light conditions between the front yard (which faces south) and the back yard (which faces north). So, are both of these plants David Verity, or did one nursery supply a different variety? (The flowers appear the same to us.)

Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

I must add that the two plants with the larger leaves were planted in the same location where we had Cuphea 'David Verity' planted last year, so the light exposure is the same. Very strange.



Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

Kathi
I have had two David Verities that ended up with different sized leaes. I didn't pay too much attention to it until You brought it up. I am going to have to inspeect them closer today and see if there is a varience this year between one of my small cuttings from last year and the one from this year.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

They both look like David Verity to me. If the flowers look the same then they are almost certainly the same plant. What happens with different nurseries often is they use distinct fertilizers.Often nurseries use fertilizers that are formulated to encourage flowering. These plants really bloom well in the first year, after that they seem to need to send out denser folliage and less flowers. If the light conditions are the same and the soil they are in is the same I would suspect different fertilizers were used by the nurseries that grew them.

I often get plants that are blooming like mad when I purchase them from Home Depot or Lowes. After the first bloom they don't perform nearly as well for a long time.

This is a good topic for discussion. What happens to plants that are given a lot of phosphorous to encourage blooming and less nitrogen and potassium--after the fertilizer wears off?

I just looked at my plants. The one that I was overwintered from last year has smaller leaves and it is in a pot cuttings from this year that are in the ground have larger leaves. All have been watered and ferilized the same. I am thinking that the one in the pot last yesr had bigger leaves. I lost a lot of the leaves over the winter on this plant and to be honest wasn't sure it would make it until spring. Right now it is extremely thick but just now starting to get blooms.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

These look very healthy. My DVs seem to be sunburned as they have reddish leaves.

Priya
Zone 7, Maryland

I have a few reddish leaves on mine Priha but nothing to worry about.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Priya the David's that I have growning in full sun have reddish leaves but it doesn't seem to be a problem. Those in parital shade have pretty green leaves. All are just covered in blooms and the hummingbirds can't stay away from them.


Dianne
Southeast Alabama
Heat Zone 8
Sunset Zone 31

Bigger leaves might be an adaptation to reduced light. I know trees in shadier spots will sometimes grow larger leaves.

I have 9 of my 10 "David Verity"s planted in the ground in bright spots with at least 1/2 day sun - all are covered in flowers now. This is my first year with them and they are quite good as hummingbird magnets.



Wilmington, Delaware
USDA zone 7a
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 32

Ron that is a good point with regards to the leaf size. I will have to take a look at mine and see just how much light each one is getting.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

Ron, beautiful specimen pic.

Do you plan to dig your cupheas and overwinter in a protected spot or can they survive your winters in the ground? I thought cupheas were tropical and not very hardy in zone 6 but maybe can survive in a microclimate?

(Sorry, if these questions have been asked already~~~I don't know all that much about HB plants.) (-:

Judy in Zone 6a
Cincinnati (Anderson Twp.)
Southwest Ohio

Judy
I am a few degrees colder than you during the winter and mine do not survive the winters outside here even in a protected area.

Penny
Niagara Falls, NY
USDA zone 6a/6b
Heat zone 4
Sunset zone 39

We had fantastic luck overwintering all of our Cupheas this season. Every plant ('David Verity', Schumannii, Micropetela, laevis, and ignea) survived. Of course, they would never survive outside in our zone 4/5 winters. I keep them in our sunroom and try not to overwater.



Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

It's good to know you can keep them through the winter inside. It would be a shame to have to replace them every springtime. Thanks.

Judy in Zone 6a
Cincinnati (Anderson Twp.)
Southwest Ohio

This year there were lots of leftovers from the plant sale. Along part of the edge of the vegetable garden a 20 foot row of them was planted a foot apart and they have grown together into a low hedge. They work great as a hedge fronting a garden as long as the plants behind them are tall.

No, they are not hardy in zone 6a. They are however easy to winter over in the house as long as the garden doesn't mind leaf shed.

I've been seeing so many posts about this flower I'm itching to try it out next spring. I currently have a pot of lady in red salvia on my patio near the feeder and the hummers love it, and I want to add another hummer magnet container to the patio. Is Cuphea DV something I'll be able to find at a local garden center?

Zone 5a
East-central Iowa

Dan,

That depends on the quality of your local garden center. If you mean Lowes or Home Depot, chances are not good. If you have a good local garden store and the owners/managers make any effort on hummingbird plants, it's a good possibility.

You might be able to coax someone here into starting a cutting or two for you, though. I'd offer but I'm pretty much a black thumb when it comes to cuttings or seeds.

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge LA

We present educational programs to our community about gardening for hummingbirds and Cuphea 'David Verity' is one of the top plants that we recommend for every hummingbird garden. It is very frustrating that people cannot purchase it locally, but it's definitely worth obtaining by mail order and it's so easy to overwinter inside.

Avant Gardens on the east coast provides very nice Cuphea 'David Verity' plants for a reasonable price. Here's the link:

http://www.avantgardensne.com/catalog/product.cgi/1/59/3792/P1/default/N/0

Hi Kathi,

Are all cupheas HB plants? I checked out the link you provided and they also have the Cuphea 'Ballistic' available. Thank for the link by the way.

Sandra

Sandra, not all Cupheas are hummer attractive and some of us have different experiences with them. In my garden in southeastern Louisiana, Cuphea micropetala is tops when it is in flower. Generally, it flowers from September until April, unless we experience a hard freeze. The hybrid Cuphea 'David Verity' comes a close second. It does flower all year, unless a hard frost knocks it to the ground. Then, it will have to regrow from the root. Usually, it is one of the first plants to break dormancy after a frost.

For me, the new Cuphea schumanni is a big winner, but it does have some characteristics that take away from its value. Nevertheless, it produces a nice quantity of very sweet nectar and hummers here find it very enticing.

Other Cupheas are mixed. Some people swear by Cuphea llavea. It gets only occasional use at my place even though it has plenty of sweet nectar. Cuphea ignea is not a consistent winner, but it does get some use. I had one bird that used Cuphea cyanea, but most pass it by.

Similarly, Cuphea salvadorensis finds favor with some birds but not with others. These last two species struggle in out hot, humid summers.

There are dozens of cute, ruffly hybrids out there and hummers do use some, but these plants are not to my personal taste, so I just leave them at the nurseries. Cuphea purpurea grew here for a couple of years, but it never got any attention.

There are a lot of Cupheas that I have not tried. To my mind, they are worth a try or two, if I can get my hands on them. Currently, I am seeking a source of Cuphea nelsoni. Report your findings to us because this is a good genus to experiment with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA
USDA Zone 9

Nancy, thank you for such a very thorough response to this question. We have been without telephone and internet access since late this morning, but now we are back online.

Anyhow, I agree with Nancy. Avant Gardens also carries Cuphea micropetela, which we have also, but it never gets much hummer action for some reason that I can't identify. Cuphea schumannii was great for us last year but this year is mostly being ignored, despite the fact that we have three instead of just one plant. Cuphea ignea is sometimes used. We've tried a few of the others that are commonly offered in local nurseries (the bat-faced one, in particular) with no attention from hummers. 'David Verity' is hands down our best cuphea for hummingbirds in the Midwest and North.

It probably wouldn't be too late to order a 'David Verity' or two from Avant Gardens, especially since they overwinter so well. Ours were small when we received them, but grew and flowered very fast. It's a 'must have' plant for hummingbirds.



Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5

Thank you Nancy and Kathi. Guess you never know what the HBs will go for even if you have the right flowers or flower combinations from reading other's posts. So far they seem to love every flower I have planted for them but we have little piglets hanging around here. They come to our patio at least 5 to 6 times a day and splurge! Very cute!

I'll do some more research on the species and pick a few and see what happens. Thank you!

Sandra